function: single house with residential use
chief architect/office name: Kon. Zabetas / kon.zabetas - architects+engineers
project team: Kon. Zabetas, architect uia
client: Dimitrios Chatziioannidis
consultancy/collaboration partners (if any): none
design date: 2006-2008
completion date:
area: 172.827m2
FROM KAT-OIKIA (RESIDENCE) TO SYN-OIKIA (NEIGHBORHOOD) a neighborhood-like house
SOURCE OF INSPIRATION: The architectural synthesis of the residence was inspired by two incidents-stories, starting lines of proposal that it flourished in the rocky, but urban fertile, ground of this particular corner of the district.
SALVADOR DALI and GALA: In 1930, Salvador Dali and Gala start looking in Catalonia, in order to buy a house in which they will live and work. In Port Ligkat, a village of fishermen, not far from Kadakes, finally bought a house that was just little bigger than hut. After they made (as long as could better with the few money that allocated) their new residence, that was constituted by a room 4X4 m., which was communicated, going down certain steps, with the bathroom and the kitchen, Dali and Gala were installed there immediately. Very soon they would buy the next houses and, opening doors in their walls, would create an exceptional residence, that continuously was growing with the time as if it was a live organism.
DIMITRIOS PIKIONIS: Many times over, almost ceaseless, Pikionis insisted in the role that plays the relations between complete and in voids, in the level and in the space, and explained which importance have the collateral and frontal escapes, the points of successive viewing, the angles of incidence, the orientation of settlement and still which importance have the accentual and chromatic oppositions between the various kinds of shading. From now on only one left, that job of the architect is to say where are those targeting positions, the key - points from which the visual image tends in a completion.
PROJECT'S DESCRIPTION: The whole building is constituted by two main and large volumes and a small volume. It is not a building with a nutshell, that its form is molded as a sculpture, but a building with 2+1 nutshells tend to separate and with their forms tend to be distinguished from each other. It is therefore 2+1 buildings that are unified in one use and one functionality (residence) but at the same time remain distinguishable nutshells ( neighborhood). In this way the multi- shell building satisfies 4 concepts of architectural synthesis.
HISTORICAL PROFILE: The 2+1 volumes of residence represent the three historical periods of the neighborhood. It is as if they have built, each one in every historical period and is now consolidated into a dwelling. The volume 1 of residence represents the first historical period of the neighborhood, when it was a village - suburb with villas and mansions that had courtyards and in between them distinguished the original rocky landscape - environment of the region. The volume 2 represents the second historical period of the neighborhood, afterwards the year 1922, when refugees install themselves and increase the built-up density. Then the suburb with the mansions homes and the private courtyards round them, is transformed into a neighborhood with public open spaces and smaller and more residences round them. The private courtyards are used as public squares and the buildings accommodate more families. The volume 3 represents the third historical period of the neighborhood, afterwards the year 1945, when immigrants come and live in buildings on a level with the ground that have very simple forms, builted the one in contact with the other while the streets narrow and become blind alleys only for the access of residences. Both therefore the volumetry and the morphology of volumes - nutshells it is based on the typology of buildings of each historical period. In this way the building of residence becomes a summary of the architectural and urban history of the neighborhood.
Step 1: volume 1, initial not urban historical architectural core – villa. Memory of configuration of the rocky landscape in residence (Ottoman period). Point 1: autonomous and self supported wall, a reference to the walls and walls of the city and the square respectively. Point 2: overlooking the bay, relationship of house's internal with the environment that is to say with the sea.
Step 2: volume 2, architecture of an urban square – neighborhood. Memory of organization of residences in neighborhood, around the square (refugees). Point 1: extrovert relation with the square - space of social being. Point 2: little balcony as theater box hovers above the square.
Step 3: volume 3, postwar simple modern architecture of a blind alley. Memory of regulation of access and communication of built-up units of neighborhood (immigration). Point 1: reproduction of house's morphology which is under demolition. Point 2: access - linear form of movement that follows and repeats the form of ground as alley.
URBAN PROFILE: It is a debate between individual and collective. A discussion of private space with the public space. The space used exclusively by one user affected and affects the area used by many users. The planning of building produces initially a nutshell of privacy, a complete void in the urban functionality of the neighborhood. It is a introvert building that deconstruct the public function of the neighborhood and transmute it in a mesh of streets. The planning of building is a surgical urban intervention that cures the neighborhood from the distortions that suffered because of historical events (refugees – immigration). The planning of building also restore the integrity of the size and the function of urban public spaces that surrounds the building, without erase the memory and the reference to historical facts. Others private urban spaces reproduced inside the body of the building. It is the revenge of open space that has been built and incorporated into the building. The public urban spaces and the private urban spaces are associated and communicate with each other. The user perceives, through the senses (sight, hearing, touch – walking) the neighborhood and the residence as a unit. The user crosses the neighborhood when placed inside the house, it is as if he/she arises again back in the neighborhood, while he/she finds already himself/herself into his/her house. The architectural planning re-defines continuously the relationship of user with the neighborhood, making it the most friendly, safe and harmonious. The architecture of residence does not isolate the user from his neighborhood but on the contrary reconciles him with it. The user when sitting in the living room of residence, has similar sense with the one that has when sitting in the square of the neighborhood. Entire the structural constructure of the residence, the walls, the windows, the doors, in combination with the stairs, the floors, the ceilings, the balconies etc, is converted in a machine of television-like contact with the view and the sounds of district and city. The stairs of residence repeat the sense grade of - slope of streets of neighborhood and the corridors of residence become departments of the network of district's roads.
Step 1: an alley - corridor - stairwell that crosses the building and maintains the sense of urban walk in the architectural functionality and through the functional architecture. Point 1: access with linear form.
Step 2: by reading the local landscape, the topography and the morphology of ground, the interesting passages, the prominent tours and the easy accesses are detected. Point 1: vehicle traffic. Point 2: pedestrian traffic. Point 3: a possible route to interesting observation points of the city. Point 4: point of view. Point 5: slope land. Point 6: passing through the square without a view.
Step 3: the view as a total of successives images, breaths in a movement that is split in distances. Point 1: distances of observation points. Point 2: points of observation. Point 3: levels of suspension and staging areas for observation.
Step 4: The complex of suspensions and movements as well as the diversity of images of view and the relationship of building's internal with the exterior environment, suffocate in the simple fundamental nutshell that produces the united use. Point 1: outline of nutshell. Point 2: suspensions. Point 3: movements.
Step 5: the escalation of schematically simple volume is a first metamorphosis, indicative of the content in the nutshell. Point 1: outline of nutshell with escalation of volume. Point 2: spaces self-existent or not that are contained in the nutshell. Point 3: movements. Point 4: suspensions.
Step 6: the united nutshell is transformed and is shaped into a dynamic multi-shell, the simple cell of volume is multiplied in a variety of volumes and live forms. Point 1: multi-shell boundary through which the house becomes a neighborhood. Point 2: spaces - ground plans with various functions. Point 3: corridor of movement that crosses and linking sites.
Step 7: The interaction of internal and external space and the interacting relationship of the building with the environment, corrode volumes and sculpture final forms. Point 1: indirect relationship with the environment – view. Point 2: direct relationship with the environment – access. Point 3: volumes - spaces that are added, infiltration of interior in the abroad. Point 4: volumes – spaces that are removed, infiltration of abroad in the interior.
Step 8: afterwards the synthesis and the final sculpture of volumes, the removal, the abstraction, the transparency, the penetrability, via which the building, as a kin of bridge, connects visually areas of the city. Point 1: transmittance axes that span optically the areas of city. Point 2: places of observation or sighting. Point 3: the surrounding city and its areas as compact building with aspects. Point 4: sightings of the aspects of city from the interior of building. Point 5: the nutshell splits the volume of city in areas. Point 6: moves between targeting positions that changes the visual images of the city from the building.
Step 9: the final result is a multi-shell, light, hovering, suspended, that breathes images, viewings and movements, both inside and around of it, confusing the internal space with the exterior space and the open space with the closed space. Point 1: horizontal free movements. Point 2: view that enters from everywhere in the house. Point 3: levels of the building on levels of sighting. Point 4: targeting positions – levels. Point 5: horizontal and vertical final connection of targeting positions.
Step 10: in first phase the construction, where the building is the sculptural object that is structured deconstructing the city, in second phase the deconstruction where the city is the sculptural object that is reconstructing by deconstructing the building. Point 1: Urban hole - the atrium of the city that produces its internal aspects. Point 2: panoramic view of the city - the internal aspect. Point 3: optical axis. Point 4: living the city, not living in the city.
CLIMATIC PROFILE: The building has two climatic characters, three climate behavior and two climatic objectives. The first climatic objective includes all these data should have an eco-building, such as saving energy for heating, cooling, ventilation and illumination. Energy saving involves the friendly relationship of building with the natural environment. This means that the building does not pollute the natural environment with energy waste. To achieve the first climatic objective, the building is analyzed as a machine of housing that consumes energy and raw materials and produces waste during the construction and its operation. The second climatic objective includes the management of interaction between the architectural microclimate, the urban microclimate and the natural microclimate ( the local weather). The building is an artificial environment that produces its own meteorological data, which mean that has its own temperature, its own speed of wind in the interior and its own rate of humidity. The neighborhood also is a artificial environment that produces its own meteorological data, to some extent they depends also from the meteorological data of residences that constitute it. Both the meteorological data of the house, and the meteorological data of the neighborhood affect the meteorological data of the natural environment that is causing climate change and influence the local weather. In the city of Thessaloniki this fact is real and specific. The buildings and the streets of city with their temperature and their size creating a dam that diverts the wind “Vardaris” from its ancient course. The wind "Vardaris" is an important factor of the natural climate of the region. The change of its direction and the decrepitude of its speed have altered the climate of region, turning it from dry (mild) to wet (subtropical). To achieve the second climatic objective, the building is analyzed as a climatic system and its meteorological data are regulated, in order to connected friendly with the equivalents meteorological data of district and those of natural environment. The building achieves its climatic objectives through two climatic characters, a wintry climatic character and an summertime climatic character. The wintry climatic character is based on the phenomenon of igloo. The closed, curved, aerodynamic shape that takes the building during the winter, influences positively the direction and the speed of wind around the building and protects it from the overheat of its exterior nutshell. At the same time building because of its architectural structure (appropriate design of entrances, corridors, stairway enclosures and rooms) functions as heat trap, enclaving the heat inside. The summertime climatic character is based on the phenomenon of tunnel. The open, flat and long shape which takes the building during the summer, increases the speed and directs the blow of wind in to building and through the building, preventing the overheat of its interior. At the same time, building because of its architectural structure (appropriate design of exposures, and levels of floors) functions as cooling, ventilation and shading machine, both for itself and for the neighborhood. Thus the residence has three climatic behaviors, via which, the winter it warms the neighborhood protecting it from the wind and the summertime it refreshes the neighborhood protecting it from the overheat.
ARCHITECTURAL PROFILE: The building has three floors, an underground garage and a loft under the roof. In the first floor exist a studio with a lounge-kitchen, bathroom and two rooms, as well as the main entry with the lobby and the staircase. In the second floor exist two rooms, the main bathroom and a living room with sun-lounge that looks towards the square, as well as the auxiliary entry with the staircase. In the third floor exist a room, a kitchen, a small bathroom, the dining room and an open lounge that looks to the city, as well as the staircase. All floors linked together by vertical hydraulic elevator that descends to the basement - garage. The building has only two aspects that have completely different aesthetics, morphology and concept of synthesis.
The one elevation is northern and sees the square of neighborhood.
Elements: Central French window that stresses the axis of symmetry of ledge and pediment, with a small balcony to the square that opens and socialize the house and simultaneously maintains the sense of safety in this because of the architecture of theatrical theater box that characterizes it. Central pediment, characteristic morphological element of the district that hides the loft. An intense architectural element that downgrades the volume of the building and advancing the open and spacious character of the square. Central refined ledge, the levitating balance of introvert privacy and extrovert connection with the square, because the low height from it. Symmetrical openings with neo-classical details and finishes. Wall of building with rabbets in the plaster, a reference to the popular neo-classical architecture of interwar era.
Step 1: cutting off of roof sections to show more sky. Point 1: remove volume and surface. Point 2: total volume of building's block. Point 3: segregation of aspects of properties.
Step 2: separation of the aspect's surface appearance in more interesting (primary) and less interesting (sub) parts, visual hierarchy and organization of the elevation.
Step 3: Intrusion of the primary part, while the secondary part retreats optically in the shade.
Step 4: Intense increase of void in complete, at the surface of the secondary part.
Step 5: Configuration of arc-shaped horizontal acne so that the vertical dimensions of void are decreased and the secondary part lowers optically.
Step 6: and another separation of the primary part in a unit of the floorplan, smaller than the aspect of the floorplan and in a unit of the roof – pediment.
Step 7: writing on the primary part with the use of delicate linear symmetrical elements and opening up of symmetrical voids for the achievement of penetrability in the volume of aspect of building.
The other elevation is southern and sees the sea and the view of city.
Elements: Ledge with sun-lounge, abstraction and removal of volume and surface, accentuation of arch as self-supporting city-wall and not as building's supporting wall, openings of house in the view of sea and optical penetrability to the square. Arch with bricks and stone, morphological and visual reference reduction in nearby city-walls and city-gates. Roof that isolates, defines and delimits the volume of the part of the house. Overhanging porch with morphology of kiosk, creates the sense that it is a construction of the square. Double ledge and balcony with abstraction of volume and surfaces, so that the functionality of the balcony does not limit the intensity of the wall. Wall, memory of the supporting wall of square and simultaneously representation of the limit of square that penetrates thus the building. Low lodge in the base of the wall, memory of local popular architecture and simultaneously optical transubstantiation of self-supporting stone wall in architectural element of the residence.
Step 1: copy of stone wall of the square. repositioning a component that will be disappeared behind the street with stairs to be constructed. Point 1: boundary of properties. Point 2: new stone wall. Point 3: existing house.
Step 2: extension of the house's wall to a city-wall with the placement of arch as characteristic element of the ancient walls of city that finds near to plot. Point 1: alley that cuts across the building.
Step 3: construction of volume in the base of the wall, the memory of a typical building entity of the Byzantine city-walls.
Step 4: construction of ledge and configuration of floor with morphology and form of open constructions – kiosks.
Step 5: completion of floor with an other ledge where the voids dominate, removing compact surface, adding transparency and improving the optical penetrability of building.
Step 6: the final shape of roof defines aspect (from above) of section volume and separates it from the rest of the building.
Step 7: the infiltration of balcony, both as fall and as support of the ledge, in the surface of stone wall without it decreases the texture intensity of the wall made from stone.
Kon. Zabetas, Architect U.I.A., Structural Engineer
